best army

[Ice]

All I know is that china has the largest navy.

Source? This site says otherwise.

http://www.globalfirepower.com/list_ships.asp

It appears we have 1866 total ships while China has 284.

[Justiciar]

I don't think there is a "best" army out there, tbh. Most armies are built on a similar model, though some are better equipped, others better trained, and others have countless troops to throw around. Personally I'd say the Chinese, but only because they scare the shit out of me. I've heard it said the the Israeli army is the best around.. can't seem to shoot properly though. I'd like to say the British army is up there with the best forces around, but in all honesty.. it just isn't. I'd say that ultimately the influence of the state is the most important factor.

[Telys]

Source? This site says otherwise.

http://www.globalfirepower.com/list_ships.asp

It appears we have 1866 total ships while China has 284.

I can't definetely tell you whos navy is bigger, I'm going off information thats like 5-10 years old. Still I refuse to believe that china releases accurate military information to anybody, so basically my question is who is global firepower's source?

[spmetla]

In a war with China the US wins no problem. The USAF and Navy would control the seas and skies over China. Stealth bombers can hit deep targets with ease and criple Chinese Infrastructure and Industry. The Chinese Army is large but I think dealing with China would be like Iraq in Desert Storm, bomb them until they are small enough for the army to deal with. The Chinese Army isn't capable of waging war if they have no heavy equipment, supplies, or lines of communication. The Chinese would lose all their ability to take the initiative in a fight. The best they could do is team up with North Korea and take the penisula and threaten Taiwan and Japan.

I don't think the US would even dare to occupy China, just get a military victory and go for peace.
Of course if/when the war goes nuclear boths sides would lose regardless of the fighting war's outcome.

As for the US vs Brit bit. I think I'd also go for the Brits on part of average soldier quality. The elite Forces and such are never comparable on either side so you need to stack up average Infantrymen, Tankers, and Artillerymen against each other and right now I think that the Brits train harder and get better base level soldiers. The US is softening up it's basic training too much because of recruiting failures. Also there seems to be a lack of seriousness that the US takes it's training with it all seems half assed, at least what I've seen. There's a trend of overrelying on technology. It's my personal believe that too many junior officer rely on their qualitative advantage instead of tactics.
And when it comes to dealing with insurgents I'd also give you guys the "gold" (there used to be tank olympics in canda!) because of your experiences after WWII in your former colonies and of course Ireland as well.

I'd put USAF Fighter pilots against RAF pilots any day though, more experience and still really good training. I'm not taking the technological advantage in account either. Do you Brits think the Eurofighter is really the right plane for you guys? If/when the Joint Strike Fighter ever finishes isn't it expect to outperform the Eurofighter?

As for armor, I realize the Leopard 2 tank is one of the best tanks out there but does it really stack up against the Challenger and Abrams. I thought the Chobham armor plus Depleted Uranium and other composites would make it be way to underarmoured for the MBT role. In all other aspects it's got the latest everthing though, curious as to how these three tanks' respective internal electronics compare. The various thermal sights, stabilation systems and so on.
The Leopard 2 is also yet to see combat right? I'm really curious to see how this tank fares seeing as it's being adopted by several countries over the Abrams (wonder if they just don't want to deal with DU armor).

Oh yeah, one of buddies used to be in the Berlin Brigade and he said that when ever they trained with the Brits you guys would "cheat" and use rubber bullets instead of blanks like it was supposedly agreed upon which would just lead to fights afterward. I myself wish the US would use rubber bullets more often but when training both sides need them.

[Husar]

The flu, it invades a whole lot of countries every year again and again...

[Atilius]

Of course if/when the war goes nuclear boths sides would lose regardless of the fighting war's outcome.

Not necessarily. This article in the March/April issue of Foreign Affairs claims that the US has now or soon will achieve first strike capability against Russia and China.

[EDIT: Fix screwed-up URL]

[yesdachi]

Best Army, hummm... US? no, Isreal? no, China?, no, Mexico!Yep!

The Mexican army has managed to sneak 12 million operatives into the US and we haven’t been able to catch a single one of them. They have almost gained amnesty and I fear any day now they will reveal themselves as a crack military team bent on the destruction of the US “Remember Santa Anna!, Remember Santa Anna!”.




To hear this message in Spanish press “1” now.

[AntiochusIII]

Best Army, hummm... US? no, Isreal? no, China?, no, Mexico!Yep!

The Mexican army has managed to sneak 12 million operatives into the US and we haven’t been able to catch a single one of them. They have almost gained amnesty and I fear any day now they will reveal themselves as a crack military team bent on the destruction of the US “Remember Santa Anna!, Remember Santa Anna!”.




To hear this message in Spanish press “1” now.

...

[Press] 1 [/Press]

This is America, now speak Spanish!